


The World

by SpaceGaysForDays



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Found Family, Gen, Tarot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 14:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29047881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceGaysForDays/pseuds/SpaceGaysForDays
Summary: (Written for the Akatsuki no Yona Tarot Zine)Jae-ha's leg has always felt like a curse. However, if not for his leg, he never would have learned the joys of being able to fly and making his own family.
Kudos: 9





	The World

**Author's Note:**

> I'm bad at summaries and formatting but I hope you enjoy the piece

Fire flickered in front of Jae-ha, illuminating the faces of his companions sitting nearby. Yona and Yun, who had claimed they could stay up forever, had quickly fallen asleep, curled up together with a makeshift blanket laid over them. Jae-ha suspected it was from Hak, but if it was, the stoic warrior gave no such indication. He was sitting a little further away, leaned against a tree to play watch for a while. Soon, Jae-ha suspected he’d carry Yona and Yun inside to sleep. Kija was currently in a heated debate with Zeno about how being a great dragon warrior was a matter of pride. At least, it was heated on Kija’s side, Zeno seemed more preoccupied with squishing Ao’s cheeks to the concern of Shin-ah sitting nearby.

Jae-ha looked off, trying to hide the laughter he could feel bubbling up to the surface. He’d never thought that he’d end up somewhere like this. Somewhere with so much warmth and love in every moment.  
It was a far cry from the place he’d come from. A place he didn’t typically think about, preferring instead to reminisce about the moment he first flew. 

\-------------------------------

The sun had felt so warm on his face and the wind had raced through his hair, treating it as if it were grass bending to its whims or a leaf floating through the air. Jae-ha had had no idea where he was even going in that moment, nor did he really care. That first moment of feeling the freedom that the world promised to him was unlike any other. It was that moment that he swore he’d never be tied down again.

He flew far and wide. When one place got to be too much he just shrugged it off and began his flight again. The leg that had caused him so much trouble through his life was now acting as his means for escape.  
That didn’t mean he felt any better about the cursed thing. Memories of Garou clawed in the back of his mind, threatening to surface at any time, but he shoved them back down as best as he could. He’d settle somewhere for a time, then begin to feel that itch to leap into the air once again, like he did on that day. He’d take flight and find his way to the thing tugging at his heart. It was like a siren’s call, doing its best to steer him to a new prison. If he had anything to say about it, he would never answer that call. He’d fight it till he was dead.

\-----------------------------------

Jae-ha traveled as much as possible, at first only exploring the nature he hadn’t been permitted to before. He discovered new leaves of trees he’d never seen and songs from birds that never ventured to his village. His eyes would close and he’d lean back into the cool grass and take it all in. 

Venturing into town, however, took him a few months. It was mostly the need for food that drove him there. Jae-ha felt eyes on him as he walked into the bustling village. Of course, no one was really looking at him… and yet the hair on the back of his neck demanded his full attention as he tried to enjoy himself. His mind told him that if they knew the meaning of his bright colored hair, they would shun him. Slap cuffs on his wrists and chain him back down to the earth once more. His throat constricted at the thought, but he shook it off to try to focus on the things around him. There were smells he’d never experienced before...things baking that his meager rations back in the village had never had, fruits of every shape and color, and the people… despite his wariness the people’s face were warm. Bright with an unearned happiness he didn’t dare to imagine. 

Except… he’d realized too quickly that everything wasn’t as good as it seemed. At night there were screams, if he looked out his window people would disappear and no one would bat an eye. This sleepy port town was in fact, not as sleepy as he’d thought. The next morning, he’d awoken to find the town didn’t hold the same mysticism it had once had. Smiles seemed forced and the mood was sour when you dug a little under the surface. Despite the comforting flavor of the bread he’d purchased at a deep discount, (all it had taken was a quick wink and a few compliments to the shop keeper’s daughter,) it sunk like a brick in his stomach.

\-------------

A slave trade. That was what was lurking under the surface. Jae-ha had tried not to get involved, he told himself over and over that there was no need to get involved in these people’s lives. He was free now, he could roam wherever he pleased and he didn’t have to stay in this port town. He could turn a blind eye to all of this and walk away free. In fact, that had actually been his plan. He’d tossed what little he had in a bag, preparing to make a break for the next place his leg would take him, until he saw her. 

Gi-Gan was an old woman even when he’d first seen her 12 years ago. It didn’t mean she wasn’t absolutely terrifying. When she commanded you to do something, you felt as if the king himself had instructed you. Her words held a power he couldn’t even begin to understand as a bratty kid… and yet there was a kindness to her. One he’d taken such an interest in that later that day, he’d flown down into a pirate hideout just to ask her to let him join. He didn’t know what he was doing, he was just an inexperienced kid desperate for a taste of something new…

If he was honest? He thought she’d kick him off her boat and tell him to stop playing around.  
Instead, she called him a brat and took him in as her own. Jae-ha had never had a family, considering Garou had thought of him as a burden and Jae-ha just hoped he’d die one day, but if he had to guess, the crew had to be close. They joked around and shared food. When one of them was injured or down on their luck, another was there to help them back up. 

That was the first time Jae-ha had seen something better than freedom. Something he couldn’t name until Gi-Gan had tapped his head with the bottom of her pipe and scoffed,   
“It’s simple, brat. That’s called love.” 

It had been silent after she’d declared that, the concept new for Jae-ha. These people loved each other…  
Jae-ha smiled a bit, leaning back against the rails of the ship. These people loved each other and Jae-ha loved them.

\--------------------------

The pull he’d felt so long ago eventually became closer. It had previously always felt like an afterthought. An itch that he could barely feel in the back of his mind. If he’d concentrated it would get worse, like a sneeze he couldn’t get out, but if he just let it fall to the back of his mind it would disappear...at least for a bit.   
Perhaps that had been why, when Yona had appeared it felt like his whole world had rearranged itself. His throat felt constricted, words became impossible, and he felt like at any moment, he might begin to fall back down onto the ground he used to fly…

He’d told himself that she was just a delicate princess, someone who couldn’t possibly be behind this powerful force hitting him just from being around her. He’d thought that the feeling would go away soon. As soon as his body adjusted, this feeling would go away. It had to…

Then Yona gathered the herbs and swore to get them on her own after receiving his help. His heart swelled with affection for this delicate girl. She’d been a princess, probably the complete opposite of where he’d come from. Yet, she was perhaps far stronger than him...taking down the slavers they’d worked for years to tear down. It was as if this girl with red hair were a fire, igniting a blaze in anyone she met that helped them do the impossible.

Perhaps, that was why he’d decided to answer that itch and break that promise. If Yona needed him… then perhaps he could fly for her.

\--------------------

“Why are you grinning at Yona like that? It’s giving me the creeps…” 

Jae-ha snapped back to reality at the sound of Kija’s voice. It was then that he realized he’d been staring at the sleeping girl for quite a while… at least, long enough that he could feel several eyes on him. 

He laughed a bit, resting his chin on the hand he had propped up with his elbow. 

“...just thinking of where our princess will take us next.”


End file.
